title: The effect of surgical handwashing routines on the microbial counts of operating room nurses.
abstract: Many factors may affect the efficiency of handwashing techniques. This study examined two interdependent factors: the time taken to wash the hands and the type of antiseptic solution used. A 3-minute initial scrub and 30-second consecutive scrub regimen was compared with a current standard regimen of a 5-minute initial scrub and a 3-minute consecutive scrub. Chlorhexidine gluconate 4% and povidone-iodine 7.5% were the antiseptics used in the two regimens. The sample (n = 34) was drawn from nurses employed in the operating room suite of a 950-bed hospital. Chlorhexidine gluconate was found to be responsible for lower numbers of colony-forming units of bacteria than povidone-iodine. The duration of the scrub had no significant effect on the numbers of bacteria when povidone-iodine was used. The optimal regimen was found to be the 5-minute initial and 3-minute consecutive scrubs with chlorhexidine gluconate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Cumberland College of Health Sciences, Camperdown, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Wade
mesh_terms: D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004203:Disinfection; D004526:Efficiency; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D009871:Operating Room Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D011206:Povidone-Iodine; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D011206:Povidone-Iodine; C010882:chlorhexidine gluconate; D002710:Chlorhexidine